Never Again
by dragonrain618
Summary: "You abandoned me! Not the other way around!" Treasure everything while it lasts because nothing is forever. Klaus/OC/Damon
1. Pains of the Past

**I've had this idea for a while so I thought that I should finally start it and see what you all think! Tell me if you like it and think I should continue it!**

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><p><strong>Theme song for story: The Way I Loved You by Taylor Swift<strong>

_But I've been screaming and fighting_  
><em>And kissing in the rain<em>  
><em>And it's two a.m. and I'm cursin' your name<em>  
><em>You're so in love that you act insane<em>  
><em>And that's the way I loved you<em>

_Breakin' down and comin' undone_  
><em>It's a roller-coaster kinda rush<em>  
><em>And I never knew I could feel that much<em>  
><em>And that's the way I loved you<em>

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><p><em><strong>A Thousand Years by Christina Perri<strong>_

_Heart beats fast  
>Colors and promises<br>How to be brave  
>How can I love when I'm afraid<br>To fall  
>But watching you stand alone<br>All of my doubt  
>Suddenly goes away somehow<br>One step closer_

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><p><em><strong>Treasure everything while it lasts…<strong>_

**Mystic Falls, 1009**

"Why are we doing this?" A woman with long, honey brown hair questioned as her grey blue eyes watched the younger, blonde woman carve her name into the cave wall.

"So the people of the future can remember us." Rebekah replied smiling.

"What if no one ever thinks to explore these caves?" The woman remarked innocently, a grin on her face.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Clara. You're worse than Nik."

Clarissa pursed her lips, pouting. "You do not have to insult me, you know."

"Why ever not when it is so much fun?" Rebekah grinned over at her friend.

"What are you two doing in here?" A voice asked annoyed. Niklaus eyed the dagger in his sister's hand, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "Am I interrupting a murder?" He grinned.

"Yours." Clara muttered annoyed as she rolled her eyes.

Rebekah stared at her brother as if he was an idiot. "Oh please," she rolled her eyes. "If you must know, we were writing out names."

"Shouldn't you be in the kitchen helping mother?" Klaus teased his sister. "Why don't you leave handling weapons to men." He smirked.

Clara narrowed her eyes and contemplated turning him into a toad. Not that she could, but still…the idea was pretty appealing at the moment.

Rebekah smirked. "Alright brother." She handed him the dagger blade first, causing it to slice his hand. "Handle it like a man." She turned to Clara. "You coming?"

The brunette shook her head and smiled. "I will be back in a little while."

The blonde smirked as she looked back and forth between her brother and her friend. "Have fun." She walked out.

Clara rolled her eyes before walking over to Niklaus. "How's your hand?" She inquired.

"It's fine." He stated, looking irritated as he examined the wound.

Clara smiled. "Want me to show you what your mother just taught me?"

Curious green eyes looked at her. "Alright…"

Clara beamed excitedly before taking his injured hand. She closed her eyes and whispered a chant. A small, soft, light blue light surrounded the minor wound.

Niklaus, however, couldn't care less about the minor injury. Instead, his eyes remained on the woman's face, on the glow of excitement that seemed to envelope it. The look on his face softened as she opened her grey blue eyes that looked up at him with the excitement of a child.

"Look." Clara grinned.

"Thank you." He stated sincerely, his now healed hand moving to cup the side of her face, his thumb rubbing her cheek.

Clara relaxed into the warm, strong hand of the man she loved before pulling back with a smile. "Come on. Lets write our names here that way future generations will know that at one point in time, Niklaus actually had a heart."

Niklaus rolled his eyes before turning to face the cave wall, dagger in hand as he set about carving his name along with Clara's.

…_**because nothing is forever.**_

Niklaus knealt next to the charred body that had once been his love. Tears formed in his eyes but he never allowed any to fall as his hand touched the burned, blackened skin that had been Clara's. His eyes drifted to the barely there swell of her stomach.

Rebekah cried freely. She had lost her mother only a couple months before. She had thought her father's attempts at tormenting his brother would have ended at that, but no. Mikael had to take away Clara and the unborn child she carried. She wondered how he had even managed to convince the villagers to burn Clara at the stake.

Elijah placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, his face solemn despite the anger that was present in his eyes. "I promise, brother, that they will pay for this."

Klaus looked at him with rage filled eyes. "Oh they will," he snarled. "They all will."

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><p><strong>Mystic Falls, 2011<strong>

"I don't understand why we have to stay in this dinky town." A tall, auburn haired woman who seemed to be around twenty complained.

The honey brown haired woman driving glanced at her. "You didn't _have_ to come with me, you know."

Kayla gave the brunette a look. "Yeah, because the last time I left for a while everything went just dandy." She snorted.

Clare Evans glanced back at the vampire, a smirk on her face. "It wasn't _that_ bad."

Kayla gave her a disbelieving look. "Mom, you were the witch equivalent of a ripper."

Clare rolled her eyes but didn't deny her daughter's claim. She simply pulled the car to a stop on a long, rocky driveway. "We're here." She stated.

"Please tell me we're not where I think we are." Kayla looked at Clare with wide, horrified eyes.

"What?" Clare asked innocently as she stepped out of her car.

Kayla sent her a dark look as she got out of the car as well and slammed the door. Stalking up to her mother, she hissed quietly, "You _know_ I can't stand him!"

"Get over it." Clare ordered. "You wouldn't be alive if not for him."

Kayla scoffed. "Please. I could have handled it myself."

Clare stared at Kayla, obviously not believing her. "Plus, he's the closest thing I have to a friend…and he needs my help, so we're staying here until everything calms down."

"Fine." Her daughter relented, knowing her mother had a strong sense of honor. "Just don't let me catch you two naked again." She shuddered.

"That was one time!" Clare protested.

Kayla arched an eyebrow at her. "Try seven." Once again, another shudder.

Those were definitely images that she wished she could have erased from her brain. No one of any age should ever have to see their mother naked with another man. Talk about a nightmare.

"Drama queen." Clare muttered as she walked into the house.

"Learned from the best." She smirked, following her mother in.

Clare glanced around with a frown on her face. No one was home, that was obvious from the total lack of sound coming from within the house. Her eyebrow twitched annoyed. This was just like him. Of course he'd call for her help and then completely disappear once they arrived.

She let out an annoyed sigh before glancing at Kayla. "I give you permission to terrorize him."

"Yay." The woman cheered sarcastically as she removed a few strands of wavy, auburn hair out her face.

"Let's stop at the Grill and see if he's there. I'm hungry anyway." Clare remarked as she walked back outside.

"Me too. Blood bags suck." Kayla stated as she opened the passenger side door and got in.

Clare let out a long sigh. "Mikayla…"

"What?" Kayla questioned as her mother got in the car and started the car up. "Don't act like your some kind of saint, mom. God knows how many people you've killed."

"I'll admit that I'm unstable at times however, Damon said that the town's council is well aware of the existence of vampires. One little mistake…and your dead." Clare said slowly, emphasizing why they had to stay under radar.

What Clare didn't say out loud was that she _did_ feel guilt over those she had killed. The guilt burned within her every day. It was who she was now, though. It was what years of pain had caused her to become.

"I wont kill anyone." Kayla stated. "…unless they piss me off. Then there won't be enough left of them for anyone to find."

"You are your father's child." Clare murmured under her breath.

"Insults, just what every parent should bestow upon their child." Kayla smirked. Clare rolled her eyes at that.

It was no secret that Kayla despised the man who spawned her. Not that she had ever met him, of course, considering he had abandoned her mother for her "safety". Her mother still had the scars from the fire, scars that Clare always did her best to hide from the rest of the world, but Kayla had seen them time and again. Kayla didn't hate her father because he abandoned his daughter. How could she? She never knew him so no harm was done to her.

No, she hated her father because of the pain his abandonment had caused her mother. Kayla had heard her mother crying late at night numerous times throughout her childhood. And the scars…The only person Kayla hated more than her father was her grandfather, the man who had nearly killed Clare simply because she was pregnant with, in his words, an "abomination's" child.

Kayla never wanted to see her mother in that kind of pain again, which is why if her father ever found out they were alive, she wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

No one would ever break her mother's heart again as long as she was around.


	2. The Sister

**Thanks to all those who reviewed! Your reviews are what inspired me to work on getting another chapter out!**

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><p><strong><em>Lights Out by Breaking Benjamin<br>_**_  
>Now you want to take me down<em>  
><em>As if I even care<em>  
><em>I am the monster in your head<em>  
><em>And I thought you'd learn by now<em>  
><em>It seems you haven't yet<em>  
><em>I am the venom in your skin<em>

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><p>Chapter Two<p>

"You have got to be kidding me." Clare stated, grey blue eyes on the black haired man sitting at the bar who was currently flirting with some woman at the bar.

"He really doesn't know how to keep it in his pants." Kayla snickered, her eyes on Damon as well.

Clare couldn't help but grin as she shook her head. "He never changes, does he?"

"Nope. I'm gonna find someone to take a bit of, text me when you're done humiliating Damon." Her daughter told her before walking off.

_She knows me way too well_, Clare thought with amusement.

Smirking, she walked over to Damon who was still charming the woman at the bar. With a fake innocent look on her face and wide eyes, Clare ran up to Damon. "There you are! I though you said you'd meet me out front." She puckered out her lower lip in a pout.

Damon blinked surprised as he looked at Clare. "Clare?"

"Don't tell me you forgot! I mean, what kind of guy forgets his own _girlfriend_." Clare emphasized the last word and inwardly smirked when the other woman spoke.

"Girlfriend?" The woman narrowed her eyes at Damon before chucking the contents of her glass on him and walking away.

Clare burst out laughing at the look on Damon's face as he glared at her, his now wet hair clinging to the sides of his face. "Was that really necessary?" He inquired annoyed.

"Pretty much, yeah." Clare grinned as she took the seat next to him. "That's what you get for not being at your house when you knew we were coming."

"We?" Damon groaned as he turned to face the brunette fully. "Please don't tell me you brought the brat with you."

"You two _really _don't like each other." Clare remarked amused as she ordered a bourbon and fries for herself.

"Hmm, I wonder why?" Damon replied dryly. He took a gulp from his drink before looking at her and saying, "And considering you just got beer dumped on me, you're not very high on my buddy buddy list either."

Clare snorted. "Please. You deserved it." She bit into a fry before looking at Damon. "So, what's the problem?"

"Did you know that werewolves exist?" Damon answered her with a question.

The brunette raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah…they predate vampires. Why?"

Her answer seemed to annoy him. "Why am I the last one to find out these things?"

Clare rolled her eyes. "It's pretty much common sense, hon. If vampires exist, wouldn't it be correct to assume that werewolves do as well?" She frowned as she examined her friend's face. "What's going on, D?"

"A werewolf's in town after some kind of way to break the Sun and the Moon curse." Damon smirked before taking another gulp out of his drink.

"The Sun and the Moon curse?" Clare whispered, a confused frown growing on her usually smiling face. There was no such thing as far as she knew. She groaned and rubbed her forehead. "I have such a headache." She muttered before looking at Damon. "So what do you need me to do?" The witch inquired.

"At the moment, nothing because I want to enjoy getting drunk and ignore all the crap going on."

"I second that." Clare murmured as she downed her glass before ordering more.

"So how've you been?" Damon inquired, leaning forward onto the bar counter as he turned sideways slightly so he could look at her.

"Alright." Clare replied.

"Just alright?" Damon smirked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yep. Now let's hurry and get drunk before Kayla comes back and declares that you're a bad influence on me."

"Quite the role reversal, huh?" He grinned before downing part of his drink.

"Tell me about it." Clare laughed quietly. Her grey blue eyes softened. "She's a good kid. She worries too much about me, though. She needs to live her own life, not spend every waking second worrying about me. It's as if she thinks I'm a piece of glass that's going to break." Clare took another long drink from her bourbon, her eyes looking to the side as if in thought. "I think I would, though, if anything ever happened to her." Kayla was the only thing holding her together. Without her, Clare had nothing.

"And I'd be the one who'd pick up the broken pieces." Damon said after a minute, flashing his friend a smirk.

Clare rolled her eyes. "Who are you and what have you done with my asshole friend?" Honestly, though, Damon was the only person besides Kayla whom she would ever allow herself to depend on. She trusted no one but them.

Damon's eyes roamed the Grill and he smirked at what he saw. "You might want to stop Kayla."

Frowning, Clare followed his gaze to the far side of the Grill where Kayla was talking to a man with shaggy hair. She presumed that he was her daughter's target. "Why?"

"Because one, he popped full of vervain and two, he's the local vampire hunter." Damon smirked. The smirk grew when Clare was almost instantly on her feet, already beginning to go over to her daughter.

"Mommy to the rescue!" Damon called after her.

"Shut up!" She growled back annoyed, flashing him her middle finger before hurrying to the other side while still maintaining to appear inconspicuous.

Kayla looked over and blinked as she saw her mother walking towards her and her target, Alaric. Clare sent her daughter a sharp warning look before projecting her thoughts into her daughter's head, _**He's on vervain!**_ All witches could project their thoughts into the mind of someone with their bloodline flowing through their veins. However, even then it still took a powerful witch to accomplish this.

Kayla looked at her mother surprised. She sent her a questioning look to which Clare answered with a slight nod. Well, Kayla thought, this sucks.

"I'm Kayla's sister, Clare." Clare introduced, holding her hand out to Alaric with a fake friendly smile. The sister excuse was what they used most often considering people would begin to get suspicious if they claimed that Clare was Kayla's mom since Clare only looked a few years older than the female vampire.

"Alaric Saltzman." The man introduced, shaking her hand with a smile. "Your sister here was just telling me about her family necklace."

"Is that so?" Clare remarked brightly through gritted teeth. She looked at Kayla. "Yeah, the necklace is made of _lapis lazuli_ and has been in our family for generations."

Kayla closed her eyes, inwardly wincing as she realized that if Alaric was on vervain, he obviously knew about vampires. By showing him her necklace, she had screwed herself over big time.

"You see, I'm a history teacher so anything connected to it fascinates me, especially when it concerns the history of our town." He explained.

"How nice." Clare remarked, eyes studying his face intently.

Damon eyed the three from the bar, instantly recognizing the look in Clare's eyes. It looked like he was going to have to warn Alaric off otherwise Jenna would have a dead boyfriend. Though it _would_ be amusing to watch Alaric attempt to stake a vampire as old as Kayla.

"It must be hard, being a part time vampire hunter." Clare said casually, causing Alaric to tense and Kayla to roll her eyes.

"I don't know what you mean." Alaric spoke in the same friendly tone as before except now there was more than a hint of caution in his eyes as he looked at the two, as if he was already planning his next move.

"Of course you don't." Clare smirked before leaning close enough to whisper near his ear. "Cause us no harm and I promise you we won't cause you or any _innocent_ citizen any." Clare wanted to hurry up and help Damon and then get the hell away from Mystic Falls as fast as she would be able to. Animosity from Alaric would only complicate things.

"I think that's enough, _Sis_." Kayla stated, sarcasm thick when she spoke the last part.

Clare rolled her eyes before looking over at Damon who appeared to be making fun of her.

Alaric watched the brunette narrow her eyes at someone before sticking her tongue out at the person. Warily, he followed Clare's gaze to the smirking Damon. Instantly, he came upon a conclusion. "You know Damon."

Clare turned her gaze back to Alaric. "And apparently so do you."

"The question is…friend or foe?" Alaric remarked, looking at the woman intently.

Clare arched an eyebrow. "I am definitely _not_ your friend…_but_ I'm not your enemy either. You stay out of our way, we stay out of yours."

"I mean," he said slowly, "are you a friend of Damon's?"

"Unfortunately. Otherwise we wouldn't even be in this backwater town." Kayla muttered under her breath.

Clare glanced at her. _**Considering I grew up in this "backwater town" a thousand years ago…**_

Kayla sent her mother a smirk.

"Did I hear someone say my name?" Damon inquired smugly as he made his way over to the three. "Were you talking about me?"

"Actually, yeah we were." Kayla said smirking at him. "We were talking about what a pain in the ass you are."

Damon glanced at her with an amused look. "Quiet, little girl. The grown ups are talking."

Kayla's eyes narrowed at his condescending tone. "Watch your tone around me, _baby vamp_. I could snap you in half if I wanted to."

Damon arched an eyebrow at her challengingly. "Go ahead. I dare you." He crossed his arms, a smirk on his lips.

Clare watched this going on with a bored expression on her face. Glancing at Alaric, she said with a shrug, "They hate each other."

"Really? I couldn't figure that out myself." He remarked sarcastically.

Clare looked at him briefly. "Do we have a deal?"

"As long as neither of you go on a killing spree." Alaric responded after a moment.

Clare smiled. "Alright then. And don't worry, hopefully we won't be in town too long." Turning to the other two who were still bantering, Clare rolled her eyes. "Enough flirting you two."

Kayla paused in mid sentence to turn her head to face her mother. She had a horrified look on her face. "Ew!" Not that she didn't consider Damon hot (someone would have to be blind not to), but even the thought of sleeping with someone her mother had slept with horrified her to no end.

Alaric arched an eyebrow at that and grinned as he looked at Damon. "Looks like you're not as popular with the ladies as you seem to think you are."

Damon rolled his eyes, dismissing the comment. "Please. Why would I even waste my time on a runt like her?" Before Kayla could voice her outrage, he continued, "Now if you'll excuse me, you stole my drinking partner and I came to take her back."

Alaric suddenly noticed the fact that Damon's hair as well as the top part of his shirt were slightly wet. "Do I want to know?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Not if you wish to see another day." Damon remarked casually, ignoring Clare's grin. "Now," He turned his attention to the witch, "Ready to get drunk?"

Clare opened her mouth to say yes but was cut off by her daughter. "No, because _I'll _be the one who will end up having to take care of her."

Damon smirked. "Oh don't worry. I'll take care of her."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Kayla muttered. Kayla sent her mother a look as if asking her if she really thought getting drunk was a good idea. The last time Clare had gotten drunk, a citywide blackout had occurred. Enough said.

Clare sighed before shaking her head. "Not now, Damon," she remarked grudgingly. Looking at Alaric, she said, "I take it that you're aware of the werewolf problem as well?"

"Ric, meet my secret weapon against Mason Lockwood." Damon replied smugly at Alaric's inquisitive look.

Kayla rolled her eyes annoyed. "Its not exactly a secret if you keep on telling people about her."

Alaric was looking at Clare curiously now. "Secret weapon?" He arched an eyebrow at her.

Clare smirked and all of a sudden, the lights within the Grill flickered for a brief second before completely going out. A few seconds later, the power came back on. "Is that answer enough for you?"

The teacher looked at her with new eyes. "You're a witch." He stated, having previously thought that she was a vampire. He looked at Damon, a growing grin on his face. "This plan of yours could work."

"What exactly is this plan?" The auburn haired woman questioned curiously, a smirk on her face.

"If Mason doesn't agree to a truce, we kill him." Damon stated nonchalantly.

"Yeah, because it worked out so well the first time." Sarcasm could be heard in Alaric's voice.

Clare frowned, her eyes looking at Damon with the sharpness of a hawk. "What happened the first time?"

Damon rolled his eyes as he turned to go back to the bar. "Let's just say that, the whole silver thing?…Yeah that's a myth."

Kayla actually blinked at that. "Idiot."

"Next time you decide to go after another supernatural creature that you know nothing about, listen to these two words of advice. Call. Me." Clare stated in annoyance before changing her mind about the drink and following him to the bar to get a couple shots in before leaving.

Meanwhile, Kayla looked at Alaric curiously. "Damon trusts you, huh?" She may hate Damon, but that didn't mean that she didn't respect him from time to time. If he trusted someone, then that person was trustworthy. He was like her mother in that aspect.

"I guess so…why?"

Kayla started to walk away but stopped and turned her head to him. "Don't expect that to mean anything to me. You do anything that causes me to believe you're a threat, and I'll kill you." She frowned for a second before hesitantly giving the man a small smile. "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

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><p>"Where is Stefan at?" Clare asked quietly as she looked at him curiously. They were back at the boarding house and were sitting in the living room near the fireplace. She was speaking quietly because Kayla was asleep with her head on the arm of the couch next to her mother.<p>

Damon rolled his eyes before saying. "He's over at _Elena's_." At Clare's raised eyebrow, he explained, "She's his girlfriend…well ex-girlfriend supposedly but I think that's just the lie they're telling to keep Katherine from doing anything bloody."

"Katerina?" Clare remarked annoyed.

"Yeah. Oh, did I mention that Elena is also the doppelganger?"

That caused Clare to freeze, her breath catching in her throat. "The doppelganger?" She whispered hoarsely, not sure that she had heard correctly.

Damon's eyebrows furrowed at her reaction. "What's the big deal about this doppelganger thing anyway?"

"Nothing." Clare stated, so used to lying that Damon didn't even notice. "It just made me think of a story I once heard about the Original Petrova doppelganger." She looked down at Kayla's sleeping face, her eyes seemingly far away as she ran her fingers soothingly through her daughter's silky mane of hair.

Damon arched an eyebrow at her as if to tell he to continue.

Taking a deep breath, Clare spoke. "A long time ago-"

"How long ago?" Damon interrupted.

"A very long time." Clare snapped annoyed, hating to be interrupted. She winced as she noticed Kayla move slightly but thankfully, the vampire remained asleep.

Kayla was too obsessed with killing her father already and Clare didn't want to add fuel to that fire. As much as Clare hated Klaus, she still loved him. Plus, she didn't want Kayla to have to live with having killed her father which is the main reason why Clare always made sure they evacuated whatever city or town they were in quickly if she found out Klaus was nearby.

"How long ago?" Damon repeated, smirking as his friend's temper continued to flash out into the open.

"Lets say a thousand years, okay?" Clare stated before taking a deep breath and continuing monotonously. "A thousand years ago, a woman fell in love with two men, brothers, and caused them to turn against one another."

"Sounds like another Katherine." Damon muttered under his breath.

"The woman, the original doppelganger and the oldest of the Petrova children, had a younger sister who foolishly fell in love with the younger brother whom she had been friends with for many years...and that was when everything began to take a turn for the worse."

**Mystic Falls, 1009**

Clara was watching her friend pace back and forth in front of the tree she was sitting underneath. It pained her to see Niklaus like this. Her fool of a sister didn't know what a treasure she had a hold of. Not only was Tatia stringing along Nik, but Eli as well.

_That_ angered the usually mild mannered witch. "Stop pacing, Nik, and talk to me." She said softly, her grey blue eyes looking at him gently.

"How can I when my own brother is trying to steal the woman I love?" Niklaus demanded angrily, kicking a stray rock hard enough to send it into the pond. "Where is the honor in that? Tell me."

Clara sighed. "Nik…do not blame Elijah. He is in the exact same position as you."

Niklaus looked at her sharply, disbelief clear on his features. "Do not tell me you are on his side in all of this!" He hissed, hurt flashing in his eyes.

Clara blinked. "Are you really accusing me of betraying you?" Niklaus didn't say anything. He simply looked at her with narrowed eyes.

Hurt colored her face. "Me? The one who has stayed by your side despite the fact you are completely enthralled by my wench of a sister? The one who has done nothing but try and cheer you up? The one who stood by you every time your-your bastard of a father treated you unfairly, as if you were useless?"

Tears brimmed in Clara's eyes. "Forget it, Niklaus." She stood up slowly, her eyes never leaving Niklaus's startled face. "Next time you need someone to cover for you when you sneak off to see _Tatia_," she sneered her sister's name, "ask someone else. Because I," she choked back a sob, "am done being nothing more than your little assistant." Clara turned to leave but was stopped by a hand grabbing her arm sharply but gently.

Pulling her arm back sharply, she turned to Niklaus. "What?" She demanded, ignoring the tears falling down her cheeks.

Niklaus stared at her with confusion clear on his face. Clara wasn't known for snapping at people or even yelling. Yes she had a temper just like everyone else, but she had never shown it to him before…until just now. "What do you mean you're done?"

"What I mean is that I'm done meaning nothing to you."

Niklaus looked at her, his expression a mixture of shock and anger. "You are my friend! You do _not_ mean nothing to-"

"I love you Nik." She whispered, her eyes meeting his now wide ones. "I love you so much that it hurts to breathe whenever I see you with my sister or you mention her. It _kills_ _me_ to see her pit you and Elijah against each other day after day…" The tears were really coming down now but Clara's voice never wavered, a testament to how strong she really was. "I love you, but…you love Tatia." She whispered the last part before running away.

This time, Niklaus didn't try to stop her. He looked as if a multitude of emotions were crashing down upon him and he didn't know what to do.

**Mystic Falls, 2011**

"Clare? Hello?" Damon waved his hand in front of the woman's face, causing her to snap back into the present and out of the past.

"Yeah?" The brunette blinked, looking at her friend.

"You zoned out." Damon stated causing Clare to sigh.

"I'm sorry. Things have been…hectic lately." An almost run-in with Klaus was at the top of her list of stressful things that had happened lately. There was also the whole possibility that Klaus would make an appearance here soon considering the doppelganger was in Mystic Falls.

That was just a nightmare waiting to happen.

"So, the sister fell in love with the younger brother. What happened afterwards?"

"The sister died, leaving the younger brother heartbroken. It destroyed him completely and he became a monster." Clare stated bluntly, her grey blue eyes cold as ice.

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><p><strong>Review please! <strong>

**Lol, this story is really pretty much writing itself. Not even I know who Clare will end up with since I'm torn between Damon and Klaus (Especially Klaus). Nonetheless, though, there will be plenty Damon/Clare and Klaus/Clare throughout the story, though the Klaus/Clare won't take place for a while considering he won't know she's in Mystic Falls until around the beginning of season 3 :D**


	3. Pissing Off a Witch

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, lol. This is the first time I've written a TVD fanfic that follwos the episodes of the show, so it took me a little while to figure out how I want these next two chapters to pan out. The sad thing is, I have everything planned out for later on when Klaus arrives and all that and the whole third season, and yet I'm still clueless as to what I want to happen here and now in the story lol.**

**I have a lot of ideas though, and once Klaus enters the picture, be prepared for awesomeness lol XD**

**The sad thing is that while I was typing this chapter, instead of listening to Damon/Clare's playlist that I created, I was (And still am) listening to Klaus/Clare's playlist lol XD Including their main song, which is "Your Guardian Angel" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Still not sure what Damon and Clare's main song will be...**

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><p>Chapter Three<p>

**_Beautiful Monster by Ne-yo  
><em>**_  
>I<em>_n her eyes, there's love and fire_  
><em>In my heart, she's burning through<em>  
><em>But I don't mind, in fact, I like it<em>  
><em>Though I'm terrified, I'm turned on but scared of you<em>

* * *

><p>Kayla burst out laughing at the expression on her mother's face as the witch glared sleepily at a smirking Damon, obviously not happy over having been woken up.<p>

"Why the hell did you see fit to wake me up at…" Clare looked at the time and her scowl worsened. "Noon? Why the hell didn't you two wake me up sooner!" She threw back her covers, momentarily forgetting that she usually slept in a slinky tanktop and short white shorts.

"Nice." Damon remarked approvingly, his eyes moving up and down the brunette's frame.

This time, Clare wasn't the only one glaring at the vampire. "Did you know that the most painful way to kill someone is to give them a shot of adrenaline to prevent them from passing out while being tortured?" Kayla asked with a creepy smile as she looked at Damon with wide, grey blue eyes.

Clare gave her daughter an approving look. "She's right, Damon. So unless you want that theory tested on you…"

"I'll be downstairs." He confirmed with a smirk. "Oh," He said right before he walked out the door. "Wear something nice. You're coming to the Historical Society Volunteer Day thingy with me. You too brat, don't want you getting into any trouble while the grown ups are away." Smirking, Damon shut the door behind him.

"He's not right in the head, is he?" Kayla questioned her mother who was in the process of stretching.

Clare gave her daughter an amused look. "No, he isn't. If he was, would he seriously be provoking a thousand year old witch and her daughter?"

Kayla grinned at that before becoming serious. "What Damon neglected to tell you was that Mason Lockwood is going to be at this picnic. I have a feeling that something big is going to go down."

Clare nodded slowly. Kayla had always been able to tell when something big was going to happen, whether it was bad or good they never knew until everything played out. "Meaning this Mason guy is probably going to attempt to get revenge against Damon for trying to kill him." Clare bit on her lower lip in deep thought before looking at her daughter. "Grab the grimoire out of my bag and bring it just in case."

The auburn haired woman nodded obediently. "Want me to bring my daggers?"

"No," her mother responded after a moment of thought. "Magic is harder to track…" Clare bit her lower lip. "Actually, yeah. Bring them just in case you need them. I don't want to risk the town council finding out that you're a vampire."

"You worry too much, mom." Kayla remarked with a roll of her eyes but moved to grab the duffel bag at the end of the bed anyway to get out what her mother had requested. As she did so, the older woman looked through her clothes before finally settling on boots, black jeans, and a dark red halter top. "…Are we going to be staying here the entire time?"

Clare shook her head as she walked over to the bathroom. "I'm in the process of trying to find us a house here nearby. Knowing how that idiot attracts trouble, we might have to come back again at some later point in time and I don't want to have to worry about him being a peeping tom while I take showers or get dressed."

Kayla laughed at that as her mother shut the bathroom door behind her before going back to get her daggers out. A smile lit up her face as she ran her fingers up along one of them. The two daggers were the only pair in existence. Long ago, Clare had spelled them and made them practically unbreakable. Not only that, they were stronger than titanium alloy and packed quite a kick, considering they were imbued with some of her mother's magic. Not much, but just enough to hopefully save her ass if she got too deep into trouble.

* * *

><p>Grey blue eyes looked around at the numerous people surrounding the area. Sipping boredly out of a plastic cup filled with soda, Clare simply watched her surroundings. "I'm bored." She complained to the dark haired man standing next to her.<p>

Damon smirked at her as he faced her. "I can think of a few things we could do…" His smirk grew.

Clare rolled her eyes. "One, we're in a public place and two…there is no way I'm drunk enough."

Damon scoffed. "Since when did you become boring?"

Grey blue eyes slid to look at him dangerously. "Boring am I?" A dark smile crept on her face as she looked at him. "Hmm, guess I'll have to change that, huh?"

"Public place, mom." Kayla reminded annoyed from behind the two. Her eyes flickered to Damon before looking at her mom who had turned to face her. "If you use magic to hurt Damon here, others will notice." She rolled her eyes at her mother's blank stare and decided to just walk away, muttering under her breath, "Yeah, _I'm_ the irresponsible one."

"Yeah Clare. Why are you so irresponsible?" Damon grinned as the brunette turned narrowed eyes onto him.

"Did I forget to mention she's still mad at you for what happened in New York?" She questioned with an eyebrow arched.

A frown appeared on the man's face. "What happened in New York?"

She stared at him. "You forgot." A chuckle escaped her. "Just watch your back with Kayla nearby." Clare remarked before walking off to do a little exploring of her own.

* * *

><p>A smirk crossed Kayla's face as a handsome enough looking man with black hair and tan skin walked over to her while she was searching for the younger Salvatore who had yet to figure out that she was in town. While she despised Damon, she was actually sort of friends with Stefan though that was due largely in part to Lexi.<p>

"Hello." The man smiled at her in a friendly manner.

Kayla smiled back. "Hey." She tilted her head as she looked up at him, the smile staying on her face despite the fact that she was getting a mixed vibe from the guy. "The name's Kayla Evans."

"Mason Lockwood." The man flashed her another smile. "Are you new in town?"

Kayla's eyes were on him sharply now. _Lockwood, huh? _She thought. _Guess this is the werewolf guy Damon was bitching about. _"Yeah, my sister and I were heading to Richmond but our car broke down about half a mile outside of Mystic Falls."

"That stinks." He remarked good naturedly.

"Yeah, guess we're stuck here for a little while until we get the car fixed." Kayla replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"So, you don't happen to know a guy by the name of Damon Salvatore then?" Mason inquired directly, his eyes boring intently into hers.

Kayla did her best to put on the act of a doe-eyed innocent. "Never heard of him. Why?"

Mason arched an eyebrow. "That's funny, considering I just saw you talking to him."

The auburn haired vampire dropped her act as she looked at him amused. "Well aren't you observant, wolfboy." Mason stiffened at the last part.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Look, I have nothing against you. Stay out of the way and you won't face the same consequences as the Salvatores will."

"Yeah, but here's the problem. If you make a move against the Salvatores, expect me to get in the way." Kayla smirked. "And trust me when I say that I am a hell of a lot scarier than a baby vamp like Damon Salvatore."

The woman turned to walk away but Mason's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Whirling around, she glared at him with her eyes despite the smile that was on her face. "Not very smart, are you?"

Mason smirked. "I'm actually smarter than you think."

A cry escaped Kayla's lips as she felt the injection of a needle to her neck from behind her. _Damn it,_ she thought as her body began to sway as her vision faded. _Maybe mom was on to something when she suggested that I build up a vervain tolerance._

* * *

><p>Clare groaned annoyed when she noticed Damon obviously irritating a blonde teenage girl who was painting a table. It was oddly amusing at the same time though considering it was obvious the blonde harbored ill will towards the quote unquote "vampire Casanova".<p>

Her eyes drifted around the room and a tired sigh escaped her as her eyes landed on Stefan who was talking to a familiar looking brunette. _And the doppelganger decides to make an appearance,_ Clare thought almost bitterly before mentally scolding herself about judging the girl based on the prior Petrova doppelgangers, a.k.a. Tatia and Katherine.

She smirked when she noticed Stefan's eyes moving to her. Smirking slightly, she waved at him with her fingers. Stefan stared at the witch for a moment before saying something to Elena and then he made his way over to where Clare was sitting with a notebook, a pencil dangling in between her fingers on her right hand.

"Clare." He stated.

"Stefan." Clare mocked back in the same tone, a wry smile on her face. "So…you and that Elena chick, huh?"

Stefan looked at her slightly surprised before shaking his head sharply. "No, we broke up. Katherine made sure of that."

Clare rolled her eyes. "You really need to work on your lying skills, you know that? Do you really view my intelligence as being so low that I'd believe that crap?" A smirk curved up the sides of her mouth. "But go ahead and ask me the question you came over here intending on asking."

Stefan arched an eyebrow at her. "You always were direct."

Clare shrugged. "My best quality, or so I've been told."

Stefan smiled wryly at that for a second before shaking his head and letting out a tired sigh. "What are you doing here Clare?" Clare could be just as unpredictable as Damon at times so Stefan always maintained a slight suspicion towards the woman, as if he believed she was up to something.

The witch arched an eyebrow. "Am I not allowed to come to Mystic Falls and visit my two friends?" The slight hint of a smirk told Stefan that Clare wasn't here just to see him and Damon.

"Now _you're_ insulting my intelligence." He remarked, causing a genuine laugh to escape Clare.

"It's good to see you again, old friend." Clare stated, smiling at the vampire. She had been friends with Stefan for a long time before she had even met Damon. Well, Kayla was more his friend than she was, but there was still a small friendship between her and Stefan.

Her friendship with Damon had put a big strain on her friendship with Stefan, but it really was good to see the usually brooding vampire. "And to answer your question, Damon told me you guys needed some assistance with a wolf problem." She smirked now.

Stefan let out a long sigh before muttering under his breath, "That's what I was afraid of."

Clare tilted her head, eyes wide in fake innocence. "Whatever do you mean?" The grin on her face contradicted the innocence in her tone.

Stefan fixed her with a gimlet look. "Clare, your answer to fixing problems usually ends with a lot of bloodshed."

Grey blue eyes looked at him blankly. "And that's a problem…how?" At Stefan's expression, the witch rolled her eyes. "I was joking. Damon already filled me in on the whole low profile thing."

"Really?" Stefan arched an eyebrow. "That's surprising."

Clare shrugged. "Not really. If the Council found out about the existence of vampires, it wouldn't be in his best interests so it's not as if he's becoming a saint…Saint Stefan." She couldn't resist adding that last part. Really though, she knew the truth. Damon was just as worried about Stefan as he was about himself. However, Damon would probably attempt to kill her for even saying something like that so she omitted that part from her reply.

Clare frowned all of a sudden and whipped her head around, eyes quickly examining all of the people within the surrounding area. "Kayla…" She whispered, realizing she was no where in sight. Normally, something like that wouldn't worry her considering Kayla was more than capable with protecting herself but…something felt off.

"What about Kayla?" Stefan asked slowly, his eyes looking around as well.

Clare sighed and shook her head, a wry smile on her face. "Nothing. Just being a paranoid mother."

"So I take it that she came to Mystic Falls with you?"

Clare arched an eyebrow at Stefan. "What do you think?" Shaking her head, she said, "I've told her time and again not to worry about me and to just go and live her life but…yeah, I don't think she trusts me very much." She laughed. An amused look crossed her face as she noticed Elena watching them curiously. "Your girlfriend, sorry _ex_-_girlfriend_," she amended with a small grin when Stefan opened his mouth to correct her, "looks suspicious of me."

Stefan sighed and shook his head. "She's probably worrying that your connected to Katherine."

Clare rolled her eyes. "Well technically, I've only met the chick once and that was way _way _before even your time period Stef, and considering the whole reason Damon ordered my help was because of Katherine, I'd say that yeah the two of us are connected."

"Clarissa," Stefan stated, instantly sobering Clare up as she caught onto the serious note to his tone, "I'm sorry to add on to your list of worries, but I need your help as well."

"Whatever you need." Clare said without hesitation. She owed Stefan for numerous occasions in which he had saved Kayla and that was a debt she could never repay, so despite how greatly she hated being indebted to any living being, she would suffer through it for her daughter.

That was the difference between Damon and Stefan. With Stefan, Clare would help him simply because of the debt she owed him despite the fact the two were friends. With Damon, however…he was the only person she sort of trusted besides her daughter…and even then, that trust was shaky.

Trusting someone was giving that person all of your weaknesses while silently hoping that they wouldn't use them all against you. A thousand years of life and trust was still the hardest thing for Clare to give. If anything, that thousand years had intensified it.

"Protect Elena. With Katherine around…I worry about what kinds of tricks she may pull." Stefan looked pained to be asking this because Kayla's words were ringing throughout his head at that moment.

'_That's the problem with Mum. She takes the whole honor thing to the extreme. If she feels like she owes someone something, she won't rest until that debt is done and gone. It's like she feels obligated or something. I swear its going to be the death of her someday.'_

He hated to ask this of her, but ultimately, Elena's safety came before everything else. Even his loyalty to the auburn haired vampire.

Clare nodded without batting an eye, instantly accepting the job. It already coincided with what Damon needed, so it wasn't as if it was a big deal. It wasn't as if Clare was some savior or something though, because they all knew that the instant Clare deemed the situation too dangerous for her or Kayla, she'd leave. First and foremost came her own safety and that of her daughter's.

"No problem." Clare stated, smiling. A frown crossed her face as she noticed Damon nodding at her to come over to him. She sighed as she stood. "The idiot beckons."

Stefan arched an eyebrow. "Since when are you at Damon's beck and call?"

Clare smirked. "When I'm plotting revenge against him and trying to appear innocent." She winked at him before walking towards Damon, who was approaching an older looking version of the blonde girl Damon had been talking to previously. Her eyes instantly took in the woman's outfit and assumed she was some sort of police officer.

"Hey, I saw you with Mason earlier. What was that about?" Damon questioned curiously with an eyebrow raised as the blonde woman turned to face towards them.

Liz hesitated before smiling grimly at Damon. "I just asked him to help with the cleanup in the woods."

Damon arched an eyebrow. "That's why we're here, put us to work."

"Gee, thanks for volunteering me without asking." Clare stated, rolling her eyes before smiling at Liz. "Since Damon obviously isn't a gentleman and won't introduce me, I'll introduce myself." She held out her hand. "I'm Clare Evans, a reluctant friend of Damon's." Damon snorted at this, but Clare ignored him.

Liz eyed her with suspicion, but returned the smile and shook her hand. "Sheriff Forbes. Nice to meet you."

"So, should we go help Mason?" Damon inquired.

Liz shook her head quickly. "Oh no. You know, he's… I'm sure he's fine." Clare frowned, noticing the Sheriff's hesitation, as if she were covering up something. _But what?_

Damon frowned as well and looked the Sheriff in the eye. "Are you okay, Liz? You seem upset." He stated.

Liz let out a long sigh and said, "It's Caroline. We had a moment."

"Is there anything I can do?" Damon inquired, surprising Clare. The brunette looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Damon wasn't usually the sort to volunteer to help others.

"No, Damon." She shook her head. "Thank you. It's just horrible parental skills paying off in spades.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." Clare smiled at her.

"You too." Liz responded before moving on.

"'_It was nice meeting you_,'" Damon mocked, a smirk on his face. "What was that all about?"

Clare scowled at him. "It's called being polite. You should try it sometime."

"But being an ass is so much more fun." He replied, grinning at her.

The witch rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Yeah, you're the expert in being a hot jackass."

"Hot am I?" Damon waggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to groan in annoyance.

"And arrogant, and conceited…" She smirked.

Clare followed Damon absentmindedly as she texted Kayla, asking where she went to and to make sure there were no murders that needed covering up. Kayla wasn't big on self control, so it wouldn't have surprised Clare if someone had pissed her daughter off and was now six feet under.

"What's her problem?" Damon inquired as he approached the blonde from earlier, nodding at where Elena had gone off to talk to Stefan again.

The blonde looked at him coldly. "Don't worry about it." Her eyes flitted to the brunette witch who was still messing with the cell phone. "Who are you?" She questioned.

Clare arched an eyebrow at the hostile look in the girl's eyes whenever she looked at Damon. "Let me guess, he used you then kicked you to the curb? Made you his own personal blood bag?" Without waiting for an answer, she hit Damon over the back of the head before returning to the cell phone.

Damon sent her a peeved glare while rubbing the back of his head. Clare could be so perceptive sometimes, it was scary. "Why do I always attract the violent ones?" He muttered before looking at the amused Caroline. "Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?"

"Don't worry about it." She ordered, her amusement fading and a stony look back on her face. "Who are you?" She asked Clare, some friendliness back in her tone as she turned her attention away from Damon.

"My eternal sex slave." Damon stated with a smirk.

Even Caroline could tell that this was definitely the wrong thing to say because the brunette's eyes slowly moved from the cell screen to Damon's face, a blank expression covering the woman's face.

"Please. As if you could be so lucky." Clare stated, her eyes narrowed. A dark smirk promising vengeance appeared on her face after a moment, sending chills up both vampires' backs. Looking at Caroline, she smiled warmly. "I'm Clare."

"Caroline." The other replied, smiling back as well.

Clare smiled at her before dialing Kayla's cell. The smile faded as she heard a nearby ringing. Frowning, she looked at Damon. "I'll catch you later." Turning to Caroline, she said, "It was nice meeting you."

Damon frowned as he watched Clare walk away with a scary, hardened expression on her face. Something was going on, but what he couldn't tell.

Clare dialed the number again and listened for the ring, following the sound. Her eyes roamed the area, a bad feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

The ringing sounded close, but as she looked around the picnic area, she saw no sign of her daughter.

Looking around, her eyes stopped as they landed on what appeared to be Kayla's cell phone, which was partially obscured from sight by a picnic table. Bending down, she picked it up, a dark expression growing on her face.

Her eyes snapped over to the opposite side of the area, where Damon was standing near a lemonade stand talking with a tan man with dark hair. _Mason Lockwood_, she realized almost instantly and her anger grew as she realized that he might have possibly had something to do with Kayla's sudden disappearance.

Stalking over, she glared at Mason as she approached. His eyes took her in, a slight smile on his face. "Hello, I'm Mason." He introduced, completely ignoring Damon now.

"I know who you are, wolfboy." Clare snapped, causing Damon to smirk. It was hard to get Clare truly angry, so to get her this worked up meant that Mason had signed his own death warrant. "The question is, what did you do with Kayla?" Clare's usually laughing eyes were dark with hatred as they examined the werewolf's smile fade almost instantly.

Damon whistled lowly. "Pissing off Mama Witch, not very smart Mason. Maybe you should reconsider the whole truce thing."

"It's too late for truces now." Clare stated darkly. She could forgive a lot of things, but messing with Kayla was the biggest taboo anyone could do.

Mason's eyes examined her. "I don't know who this Kayla is."

Clare smirked darkly at him and said sarcastically, "Of course you don't."

"You two have a good day." He stated before walking away, Clare's grey-blue eyes watching his every move. Clare was smart enough not to kill him in front of everyone, but the instant she got her daughter back, he would be dead.

"Please tell me that you were just bonding." Stefan said as he approached the two.

"Of course. We're planning to have a little dinner later, the main course being wolf." The witch told Stefan, her eyes closed as she reined in her emotions. Rage and worry for the auburn haired girl stormed within the brunette. Kayla could well enough take care of herself, but she had a feeling something had to have been done to her to keep her from fighting back.

Clare had to find her. Fast.

"Kayla disappeared. Mason is up to something." was Damon's response to Stefan's inquisitive look. Damon arched an eyebrow at Stefan. "So what's up with this faux drama in your relationship?"

"Told you it was obvious." Clare stated darkly.

Stefan frowned. "What are you talking about, Damon? And what do you mean Kayla's disappeared?"

Damon rolled his eyes as if Stefan was the idiot. "Oh come on, Stefan. You and Elena don't fight, especially not over me."

"And by Kayla disappeared, Damon means Lockwood did something with her." Clare remarked, doing her best not to kill the werewolf right in front of everyone. However, if she killed him now, she'd never find out her daughter's location.

"We don't know for sure." Damon stated, a smirk on his face. This earned him a dark look from the witch.

"Drop it, Damon." Stefan ordered.

"With pleasure." The vampire responded.

"Would you like some lemonade?" A little girl asked Damon innocently, holding up a plastic cup.

Damon bent down and accepted it with a smile. "Thank you, sweetie." He took a sip of it before suddenly spitting it out.

"What's wrong?" Both Clare and Stefan demanded sharply, their eyes on the black haired vampire.

"Vervain." He rasped. "Vervain."

* * *

><p><strong>Review please, and if you have any ideas for the second season feel free to let me know lol XD I'm just excoted for once I get the story into the third season because <em>that<em> is when everything will start coming together XD**

**Also, feel free to tell me who you think Clare should end up with! I already know who she's gonna end up with, but I'm curious as to who you guys want her to end up with ultimately in the end :)**


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